Marcus Valerius Martialis, or Martial, as he is generally now
known, was unique in the particular type of poetry he wrote and its
effect. Following in the Indo-European tradition of the blame poet,
he had special license to treat social transgressions with cutting
wit and humor, as well as with extreme frankness, which included
the use of obscenities and graphic sexual content. Typically
Martial, in reaction to any perceived deterioration of norms of
behavior, ridiculed socially aberrant and dangerously destructive
behavior; or, less often, in an effort to prescribe and encourage
socially acceptable behavior, he praised examples of ideal
behavior. The aggregate result of this blame and praise poetry was
a guide that voiced and …

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